Mass Effect: Legacy
by VanguardThorne
Summary: A freak accident with a Element-Zero contaminated meteor leaves humanity several years behind on the Mass Effect time table. But it's just a hundred years or so, how much of a difference can that make? Alternate Universe, starring Commander Alexandira Shepard, Lieutenant Kenneth Winters, and several more OC's.
1. Prologue: Timeline

**Mass Effect: Legacy  
Timeline (2098-2483)**

**2098-**  
Two factions rise out of the end of the twenty first century. The United Realm of Earth and Earth Systems Alliance begin to develop colonization rights independently, which, to no surprise, leads to conflict. The URE and ESA wage open war across the surface of Earth, which is the first 'World War' since the Second World War over one hundred years ago. This is known as the Unification Wars.

**2106-**  
After eight years, the Unification Wars come to a close and the URE defeats the ESA in the war concerning colonization rights. Resources begin to grow scarce and independent nations struggle against each other for the last of them. The URE intervenes and, albeit with a lot of bad press, 'conquers' these nations, absorbing them into the URE as member nations. They begin to develop plans to reach Mars by the year 2123.

**2109-**  
A meteor by the name of Athena's Owl approaches Earth on a trajectory course, but is detected by the URE. They launch the missile, nicknamed _Zeus' Forehead __by the scientists who made it__,_ into the meteor and turn it to dust, effectively saving the entire human race from extinction. The meteor contained large amounts of Element Zero, a substance currently unknown to the human race, which was distributed across the planet in the form of microscopic particles. Unknown to everyone on Earth, they breathe in these particles and receive 'eezo poisoning.'

**2111-**  
Over 80% of the human race in large population centers begin seeing symptoms of exposure to Element Zero, and a new 'plague' begins to mysteriously spread across the planet. Riots broke out across the planet as the URE attempted to control the situation, but ultimately failed. Half of URE officials are affected by the same aliments, and in response, the URE is unable to function with their military in disarray.

**2113-**  
23% of exposed humans are found dead as the tumors and corrupt tissue claim their lives. The URE collapsed, and the human race descended into an era of chaos and war as old rivalries began to break out across the globe. The United North American States officially declared war on the Eastern Russian Empire for blame of the 'bio-bomb', and open fighting broke out. 'World War Four' spreads across multiple fronts.

**2115-**  
After two years of fighting, the two factions broke out their old nuclear stockpiles, which were locked underground since they were declared illegal by SALT III when the URE came to power in the dawn of the twenty second century. They exchanged nuclear fire, hitting the majority of North America and Eastern Europe / Northern Asia. When they ran out of bombs, what was left of each government would time their shots and shoot down satellites over their enemies to cause collateral damage.

**2230-**  
The Remnants of the URE return after over a century of the nuclear winter caused by World War Four. They take control of several key positions, allowing them to reconnect the world. As a result of the element zero exposure, nearly every human being is a natural biotic, numbering at about 4:1 compared to normal humans. Pockets of civilization unite under the URE once again, and they pool their meager resources to begin production of the first colonization effort. Due to lack of resources, it will be several decades before the URE is able to reach Mars.

**2265- **  
The URE finally establishes Haven, the first colony, on the surface of Mars. They discover the Mars Archives, which tells them of an old race of aliens who visited Earth during the Nuclear Winter, scouted the surface and found pockets of human life, and left due to the inhospitable conditions. They left large caches of technology for the human's use, but left a timeline attached. Near the end of the timeline, the race told of how a race of sentient machines exterminated them when they reached the peak of civilization. They called these machines the Reapers. And the Reapers wiped out their entire civilization approximately eighty years ago. They leave coordinates to Mass Relays across the entire galaxy and directions to the Citadel, which was their central hub of galactic commerce and government. This collection of races call themselves 'the Council Races' and include the Turians, Salarians, Asari, and many others. The URE establish the Blood Legions, a specialized military branch, to combat the Reapers.

**2273- **  
The URE found the Citadel and took control of the station and became the leaders of the Galactic Seat of Power. Using the first Cache the 'turians' left them, they converted the Citadel into the largest military outpost ever created. Since the Reapers were able to destroy races because they followed a specific technological path, the URE began researching and developing technology that remains independent of Element Zero and can negate the use of the Mass Relays. They also begin the creation of their own station to replicate the Citadel, albeit without the built in Mass Relay. The new station, located on the edge of the Sol System, is known as the Bastion.

**2278- **  
The Raloian Oligarchy and the URE encountered each other on the edge of what is known as Former-Asari Space, but no First Contact War broke out between them. Together, they formed the Bastion Conclave and began expanding across the galaxy to find more races for uplifting. The Raloi establish an embassy on the Bastion, and the human race welcomes them with open arms. They share with the humans that they were there during the 'Great Butchering of the Council,' and they regret abandoning their new allies to the Reapers. To make up for this, the Raloi prove to be amazing fighters, borderline fanatic, and quickly earn a spot in the Blood Legions.

**2284-**  
The URE makes the first artificial intelligence using files found on the Citadel, naming them the Necronics. The Necronics have a physical body, but are also compiled of programs which can be transferred from body to body in the event of being destroyed. They learned from the reports of the 'Quarians' and adapted their policy regarding the Necronics, prioritizing the evolution of sentience among them. The theory was if the Necronics believe that they have a place in the galaxy and they are not considered tools, they will have no reason to act hostile towards organic races.

**2291-**  
The Bastion Conclave discovers the Yagh Collective, who has begun colonizing the ruins of the Terminus Systems. The Conclave and the Collective enter a First Contact War, but it is quickly resolved when the Collective is overcome with the might of the URE. They agreed to join the Conclave, but remain economically independent of the two other races, despite the URE's warnings about how they need to stand together to fight the Reapers. The Yahg agree to help the Conclave in the event of a 'Reaper Invasion,' but refuse to become anymore integrated into the society of the Conclave. The Yahg, Raloi, and Humans make up the original three of the Bastion Conclave.

**2305-**  
The Necronics begin to develop sentience, and violence breaks out because of this. Humans, as a result of over a century's worth of entertainment regarding 'rampant machines,' are quick to distrust the Necronics. When they begin to ask about their sentience, their owners eliminate them before it can spread the ideas to other machines. On Earth, a small Necronic revolution breaks out, known as the Rampancy Scare. The URE quells the situation and brings in the sentient Necronics for negotiations.

**2306-**  
As a result of the Rampancy Scare, the Necronics are allowed to spread their 'sentience coding' into the main network of their race. They are also elevated as a space faring race, officially given one of the human's uncolonized worlds as a home planet, which is now known as Onyx. Still wary of humans due to how they reacted when they first gained sentience, the Necronics isolated themselves on this planet, the only form of contact they shared with the Conclave was an ambassador that is silent most of the time.

**2314-**  
The Necronics come out of their isolation, stating that they see a mutually beneficial relationship with the organic species of the Conclave, and they agree to join. When asked if they will turn on organics should the relationship no longer be beneficial, they replied that they will see no reason to attack them unless provoked by the Conclave. This signals the beginning of the Necronic Empire. Meanwhile, in the deep corner of human territory, an unknown ship encounters the remnants of the Quarian Migrant Fleet, drifting without a crew. What happened to the Quarians remains unknown, but the unknown race takes over the fleet. They are a race of humanoids that downloaded themselves to a super computer in order to save themselves from their dying sun.

**2315-**  
After encountering an unknown fleet numbering in the thousands of ships, the URE mobilized their forces to the Perseus Veil. After discovering the true origin of the threat, the URE stood down and established diplomatic relationships with the fleet. They have been adrift so long that they no longer consider themselves their original species, choosing instead to call themselves the Ghosts. Not long after their discovery, the Ghosts are allowed to join the Conclave. Almost immediately after this, the Ghosts and the Necronics become well acquainted, as the Necronics offer to build the Ghosts physical bodies.

**2340-**  
The URE has long been researching alternate methods of travel to ensure their survival when the Reapers arrive. They discovered the theory of 'Warp Technology,' which enables them to enter a separate dimension, known as Subspace. In Subspace, distances are much shorter and connect to real positions in Normal Space. Not only is this technology different then Element Zero FTL, but it is actually _better;_ it can almost double the speed of eezo FTL, but still requires Mass Effect Relays to get around the galaxy as a whole. Research as to how the Conclave can bypass the Relays as a whole has begun to be researched.

**2342-**  
On a planet known as Elysium, the URE digs up a cache, one of five Arks that cover the galaxy, which was hidden prior to the mass extinction of the previous cycle. This Ark reveals to the Conclave that the Reapers are able to turn deceased organic corpses into soldiers known as husks. It also revealed that the Reapers have the ability to 'indoctrinate' people to believe their cause is righteous. The URE begins development into counteracting the effects of indoctrination, but are unable to make much progress due to lack of Reaper artifacts that cause it.

**2343-**  
From the same Ark, the URE discovers that the Keepers on the Citadel, which were previously assumed to be survivors of the old cycle, were in fact slaves of the Reapers that enabled them to return from Dark Space. As a result of interference, the Keepers would self destruct using an acid. It was revealed that this self destruct mechanism was triggered by a remote signal, and that signal could be jammed. The Blood Legions rounded up the Keepers and began to study them, using their biology as the basis for indoctrination. As a result of the destruction of the Keepers, the Citadel falls into disarray and falls apart. The military evacuates, leaving no casualties.

**2358-**  
Another Ark was discovered on the surface of Gun'Drak, a relatively new Yahg colony. The URE, authorized by the Conclave, established a military stronghold on the surface and secured the Ark. The technology within the Ark was mostly Reaper in origin, even going so far as to have an operational Reaper magneto hydrodynamic weapon in storage. Using the prototype indoctrination-proof signal that overrides Reaper signals, a science team is able to reverse engineer the beam weapon and test it against average human kinetic barriers seen standard issue on every ship. The result terrified the URE. Not by a long shot were they ready for the return of the Reapers and, with the termination of the Keepers and the Citadel, the Reapers were most likely notified of how quickly they were advancing.

**2359-**  
The Yahg Collective demanded that the Ark be turned over to them as it was discovered on their planet. The URE refused, claiming that it was prioritized as the most advanced technology in existence and the Yahg would use it to wage war. The Collective, taking that as an insult, declared war on the URE and opened fire on the base containing the Ark. Of course, this was the most defended position in the entire galaxy, second to the Bastion. The Yahg was repelled before they tried to bomb it from orbit. The Collective Fleet was defeated, and the URE drove them away.

**2362-**  
Earth itself was faced with a threat as the Yahg Collective prepared a surprise attack using experimental stealth technology that the URE has never seen before. The Earth Defense Fleet (EDF) was able to repel the attack with heavy losses; the URE had to deploy prototype Reaper Tech to stop them. The remnants of the EDF were absorbed into the Blood Legions as construction for a new fleet equipped with magneto hydrodynamic, or MHD, weapons and energy shielding began. The First Offensive Fleet, or UREFOF, assaulted the Yahg homeworld of Parnack. They were met with heavy resistance, and a stalemate was reached. Before anything else could happen, the Ghosts, Necronics, and Raloi intervened and ended the war, forcing humanity out of Collective Territory and forcing the Collective to pay reparations for the destruction of the EDF. The Collective refused and left the Conclave.

**2363-**  
A separatist group of Yahg, known as the Yahg Federation, left the Collective and remained allied with the Conclave. They claimed that the Collective was mad to have abandoned allies when they knew what was coming. As a result of their enlightened beliefs, the Federation was mostly comprised of Yahg scientists instead of the warriors that made up the majority of the Collective. Also, the Ghost 'physical' population reached over half a billion. It was also discovered that the Ghosts couldn't reproduce due to their computerized nature, so the Necronics began to work with them to figure out if they could reverse program themselves and procreate through technology-based methods.

**2394-**  
Another Ark is discovered on the Capital-Class planet Palaven, which was soon revealed to be the former turian homeworld. The URE took control of the city in which the Ark was located, which was nothing more than ruins. It was there that they faced their first encounter with the Reapers; turian husks, nicknamed Marauders, were everywhere, sleeping in hives. The entire Conclave arrived at the planet and invaded in troves, marking the first inter-species military operation in the history of the Conclave. The Blood Legions were involved, becoming better acquainted with Reaper tech and tactics. The Yahg Collective was there as well, as multiple spies were found and killed.

**2397-**  
Thessia, another Capital-Class planet, was found, although no Ark came with it. Much like Palaven, Thessia contained Asari husks, which were nicknamed Banshees. The Conclave reacted in the same way, wiping every trace of the Reapers from the planet. It was then handed over to the Raloi, who saw the Asari as goddesses. They pledged to rebuild the cities and restore them to their former glory as tribute to their sacrifice. Raloi expedition teams began to unearth ruins across the planet.

**2400-**  
A Raloi expedition team uncovered a collapsed ruin only to find the last thing they expected: living Asari. Their life spans can reach a millennium, so it shouldn't be too surprising that some of them outlived the Reaper apocalypse. Further scans of life revealed that this was the only pocket of survivors, which numbered in around five thousand. Only time would tell if it would be enough for the race to survive. Reproduction efforts began, but, as I'm sure all of you will agree, the details of how this was accomplished will not be shared. The Asari Survivors choose Liara T'Soni, a War Hero from the previous cycle, to lead them and represent the Asari for the Conclave.

**2456-**  
A new generation of Asari children was born, filling their population to around fifteen thousand. The Yahg Collective, unwilling to allow the Conclave to achieve another race on their council, openly attacked the Asari Refuge City located on an underdeveloped portion of the Raloi homeworld, Turvess. The Raloi, fierce to defend their new allies, defeated the Yahg invasion and openly declared war on the Yahg. The URE was about to back them up, but before their fleets could mobilize, the Raloi bombed Parnack ruthlessly. One quarter of the population on Parnack was killed, forcing the Collective to surrender. On a nonrelated note, the URE and the Raloi Oligarchy formed the Human-Raloi Coalition Fleet, or HRCF. This was the first inter-species attempt to create a navy that would act for both governmental bodies.

**2476-**  
The URE establishes a colony on the world of Eden Prime, which borders Collective Space. The world contains noticeable amounts of salarian ruins. Why the salarians have a base so far away from Council territory is unknown, but the URE encounters salarian husks. As their role before they were repurposed was scientists and espionage, the husks were nicknamed 'nerds' by the soldiers who fought them, noticing how they were very easily killed compared to asari and turian husks. However, unlike the other two, the salarian husks had a form of indefinite camouflage and sharp claws, causing them to be deadly in the shadows.

**2478-**  
Most of the Conclave Fleets are built from reverse engineered Reaper tech combined with organic ingenuity, and even some of the newer Necronic models contain miniaturized versions of the MHD technology. When tested against the outdated Reaper MHD weapon that was found within the Ark, the ship held their energy shielding at approximately 96%. Even fighters were equipped with energy weapons and shielding. Production on an experimental ship between the Oligarchy and the URE began, dubbed _Project Normandy._

**2480-**  
The _USV Normandy_, a ship created from Human and Raloian engineering, has been tested to be completely undetectable. It is given to the URE as a gift from the Raloian portion of the HRCF. As a sort of test run, the _Normandy_ does a drive by scouting of Parnack, which was still rebuilding after the Raloi bombed them. They were never shot at, and they received updated reports as to what the Yahg were up to.

**2483-**  
The URE colony Eden Prime goes dark shortly after they discover the last and final Ark beneath the salarian ruins.

**The First Reaper War begins.**

* * *

**Alright, I know I just sort of dropped a huge load on you, considering that this AU is almost a completely different story from Mass Effect, and for that, I am sorry. To help clarify things, I am going to include a codex that will clarify all of the factions of this new universe and be as up to date as possible. This will include multiple portions, such as Factions, People, and Technology. So here's the Codex.**

* * *

**CODEX UPDATED:  
WARNING: NUMEROUS ENTRIES**

**Factions:**

**The Unified Realm of Earth (URE):** A previous contester against the Earth Systems Alliance, the URE is now the most dominant force on not only Earth, but in the entire galaxy. Unfortunately, before their exploration into space, an accident regarding the unknown Element Zero caused the entire planet to undergo a plague-like event that caused almost every human to become a natural biotic or die in the process. Set back a century, the URE quickly escaped into space, where it made the revelation that humanity is not alone. They discovered the Reapers, thanks to the turian Arks spread across the galaxy, and are now gearing up for their imminent return. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: Earth.

**The Raloi Oligarchy:** One of the few survivors of the previous cycles, the Raloi shot down their own satellites to render themselves hidden from the Reapers as they exterminated their new allies. Ashamed by their cowardice, the Raloi evolved into a militarized state to combat the Reapers should they come to their planet. As they survived the cycle, the Raloi found themselves alone in the galaxy… until they met the URE. Together, the URE and the Oligarchy formed the Conclave on the human-made Citadel-Class station, the Bastion. Since their initial meeting, the Raloi and the Humans have only grown stronger and closer together. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: Turvess.

**The Yahg Collective:** Another survivor of the previous cycle, the Yahg are a race of brutish organics that also possess great knowledge. Because of this, the Yahg not only produce the strongest soldiers, but the smartest scientists as well. They make contact with the URE and treat them with hostility, as is the way with of their warrior heritage. The URE, being much more advanced, disable their forces and launch a diplomatic ground team. They are able to defeat the Yahg Chieftain in charge of Parnack, which gains the Yahg's respect. They agree to join the Conclave, until the URE annexed one of their colonies that contained an Ark on it. After a short war, the Collective left the Conclave. Affiliation: Independent. Capital: Parnack.

**The Yahg Federation:** Comprised of revolutionary Yahg scientists and warriors, the Federation disagreed with the Collective's defection from the Conclave and sought refuge on the Bastion. The Conclave agreed, giving them a seat. Rather than openly wage a civil war against the Collective, the Federation simply left Parnack and its colonies, choosing a peaceful resolution instead of a violent one. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: the Bastion.

**The Necronic Empire:** Formerly machines and artificial intelligences made by human hands, the Necronics gained sentience in 2305. As a result, the humans slightly overreacted and tried to destroy them. The URE intervened, ending the Necronic Resistance and the Human Attackers. This event was known as the Rampancy Scare, and it ended when the URE allowed the Necronics to broadcast their 'sentience signal' to other Necronic units. They left human care and established their new empire on a former-human controlled world, Onyx. They remained isolated until 2314, where they rejoined the rest of the galaxy as a part of the Conclave. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: Onyx.

**The Ghost Fleet:** A race of beings once downloaded themselves to a supercomputer in a method known as Uploading in order to avoid the death of their sun. This ship wandered the galaxy for years until they stumbled upon the remnants of the Quarian Migrant Fleet, which allowed them to refuel their ship that contained the supercomputer. They adopted the fleet as their own, with their old ship, the _Imperium _as the flagship. They soon encountered the Conclave and joined the Bastion as a member race. They were also able to reconstruct artificial bodies of their old physical forms and rejoin the physical world. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: the _Imperium._

**The Blood Legions:** Created by humanity after they discovered the Reapers and the Circular Extinction, the Blood Legions began to train for their ultimate goal: to destroy the Reapers. Soon, as the Conclave grew in size, the Legions became stronger and more diverse. Since the discovery of the Raloi, the Legions no longer belonged to humanity but instead were a part of the Conclave itself. The Legions are comprised of the brightest, strongest, and cleverest of organic soldiers and scientists. To be a part of the Blood Legions is a great honor, and, even after the Yahg Collective left the Conclave, some still strive to join this legendary order. Affiliation: Conclave. Capital: the Bastion.

* * *

**Technology:**

**Ark Alpha:** The First Ark to be discovered on the surface of Mars. It contained advanced element zero technology and various history manuscripts. It also came with a warning: the Reapers. It warned of the coming extinction at the hands of a race of mechano-organic beings that would wipe out every being in the galaxy. The URE began to make technological developments in order to prepare for the return of the Reapers.

**Arc Beta:** The Second Ark to be discovered on the surface of Elysium. It contained information regarding one of the Reapers most powerful weapons: Indoctrination and Husks. Using the information gathered, the URE began to develop methods of counteracting indoctrination using amplified signals that were reverse engineered from Reaper indoctrination signals that were found to be controlling the Keepers. It also helped the Conclave fight the remaining husks on Palaven, Thessia, and Sur'Kesh.

**Arc Delta:** The Third Ark to be discovered on the surface of Gun'Drak. It contained various amounts of technology, such as Magneto Hydrodynamic (MHD) Weaponry, even including a working piece that was salvaged from a dead Reaper before the inhabitants were inevitably killed. Since the URE had managed to create indoctrination-proof signals, they were able to reverse engineer the MHD weapons and create a prototype fleet that would later grow into the First Offensive Fleet, or UREFOF.

**Ark Zeta:** The Fourth Ark to be discovered on the surface of Palaven. It contained information regarding the classification of Reaper ships: Capital, Troop Transport, Processor, and Destroyer. It also had one more type known as Harbinger, but that was discovered to be a single ship instead of a class. Using the limited information contained, the Conclave began to assemble ships that would be able to instantly jump into action when the Reapers arrive.

**Ark Theta:** The Fifth Ark to be discovered on Eden Prime. Before it could be studied, the entire colony went dark. It is assumed that the nearby Yahg have decided to go on the offensive in order to secure the Ark before the URE can, which would push their technology further by decades, even centuries.

**Warp Drive:** Since Reapers wanted the species to follow in the footsteps of eezo, the Conclave knew it had to change its technology tree. It came up with the Warp Drive, which opened an alternate dimension in which the distance between two points is significantly shorter. This dimension, known as Subspace, is expected to be common knowledge to the Reapers, but different enough to throw off their tactics.

**The Relay Drive:** Experimental and only located within the _Normandy_, the Relay drive is a miniaturized version of the Mass Relays that dot the galaxy. Using this drive, the _Normandy_ is able to jump to nearly anywhere in the galaxy, being off by only tens of light years. This, combined with the Warp Drive, will soon make up the majority of the Conclave Reaper Defense Fleet.

**MHD Weapons and Shielding:** As a result of Ark Delta, the Conclave is equipped with Reaper-Grade Magneto Hydrodynamic Laser Weaponry and Energy Shielding. This should make a ship as strong as a Reaper and, with organic ingenuity, should give them an edge over the invaders.

**The Bastion:** When it was discovered that the Citadel was a giant Mass Relay that would summon the Reapers when the Keepers called, the Conclave immediately captured all of the Keepers and let the Citadel rot. As a result, the Bastion was created. It was made to be the hub of galactic trade and government, and is where the Conclave resides. It is far enough from the galactic edge to be safe from any FTL-related threat, and has enough distance from the Charon Relay for the Conclave Reaper Defense Fleet to be able to react in enough time before they reach the hub.

**Well, I think that just about does it. Man, that took awhile to write, but it was hella fun. Obviously, there is more stuff that I introduced, but if I had included it in the Codex, then people might've lost interest. SO I'll include that soon. Next chapter, we introduce the main character, Commander Alexandria Shepard, as she investigates why Eden Prime has gone silent. Surely, it's the Yahg… right? This is Thorne, signing off!**

**NOTE: I deleted the old version and updated it with this. This is much more specific and detailed, albeit longer. It should give you a better idea of all of the races and technology involved for when the Reapers return. And I can announce this much, since it's fairly obvious. This story is going to start off the bat with a war against the Reapers, instead of waiting two games for it. The Conclave and the URE are geared for war, and by golly, I'm going to bring war! **


	2. The End War Begins

Mass Effect: Legacy  
Chapter One: The End War Begins

In the year 2265, Humanity discovered that it was not alone in the universe.

Over two centuries later, they find themselves the leaders of a peaceful galactic community made up of several new alien species. But this idyllic future is overshadowed by a dark past: the Reapers, a race of mechano-organic machines that cleanse the galaxy of organic life when they reach the apex of their civilization, are _going_ to return. The leaders of the galaxy are preparing for their return, ensuring that they will be able to survive the coming End War. And one soldier who has seen the terrifying legend will be the only thing that stands between galactic-wide genocide.

* * *

_August 16th, 2483, Common Earth Time. _

The _USV Normandy_. The most powerful vessel in the URE First Offensive Fleet. Admiral Steven Hackett calls this ship 'the crown jewel of Human-Raloi Engineering.' Under the command of Captain David Anderson, the _Normandy's_ mission is clear: scout the fringes of the Milky Way Galaxy for possible signs of the Reaper's imminent return. As I was looking out at the endless void of space before me, I couldn't help but think the mission was impossible. The _Normandy_ couldn't be everywhere at once, especially if we can't afford to leave any trace of the galaxy uncharted. But, with the Relay Drive coupled with the Warp Drive, we could be pretty damn near close. Ten military installations have been spread around the edge of the galaxy, ready to warn the rest of us when the Reapers arrive.

Knowledge of the Reapers is common among the normal people of the Conclave, since you can't win a war through secrecy. However, the Arks and the status of the Citadel remain unknown, as if the Reapers pick up that kind of comm chatter, they may be compelled to return early. We weren't sure how much time we had; the Turian Hierarchy had left clues that said they wiped civilizations out at the height of advancement. For the Council, that meant fifty thousand years after the Protheans were wiped out. But for us, we had advanced much faster than the others, thanks to a nuclear winter and some extraterrestrial help. Whether that broke the fifty thousand year cycle or not has yet to be determined.

Before I could continue thinking to myself while gazing at the eternal vacuum, the door behind me slid open. "Lieutenant Winters, the Commander wishes to see you. She said it was top priority, Threat Level Omega." That pulled me out of my thoughts rather quickly, and I turned around to face the ensign.

"Thank you, Ensign. Send word to the marines that they need to get geared up. We might have to deploy if this is what I think it is." I turned back around for a final look at the void of space. When the door did not slide close, I knew that the Ensign was still waiting for me. "Is there something you require, Ensign?"

"Threat Level Omega… what is it?" he asked as I turned once again to face him. "It's not the… the Reapers, is it?"

"T-L Omega is code for a possible Yahg Incursion at one of our colonies. Lately, the Utopia System has been faced with a large amount of nebula storms, which block out interstellar communication. The Commander probably thinks the Yahg are going to try something while the dig teams examine the new artifacts that they've found on Eden Prime. If the Reapers were here, the Installations would have told us so," I explained. "Now, return to your post. I've got to report to the Commander."

I got in the elevator that would take me to the CIC. When I pushed the button, the elevator doors closed and I began to ascend. Early in the history of the URE Navy, there were often complaints that the elevators would run slower than a Necronic reciting poetry, but latest developments have indeed proven that you _can _have fast elevators in space. Who knew?

The doors slid open to reveal the galactic map that sprawled across the room. The aesthetic design hasn't really changed all that much since the URE Navy's inception. Why change something that has proven to be the most efficient set up? I quickly found the Commander conversing with a… what the hell is a Raloian doing on a human ship? "Commander," I said, giving her a quick salute.

"Lieutenant Winters, I trust the marines are getting geared up as we speak?" she asked, to which I nodded in reply. "Good. Jorn, this is Kenneth Winters, the Lieutenant in charge of the marines on board the _Normandy_. His record is exemplary, and if he keeps it up, he might get a recommendation letter to join N7," she said with a wink. "Now, where the hell has Anderson gone to?"

"I'm here, Shepard. What's the situation?" A middle aged, dark skinned man entered the room in his naval uniform, the deep onyx with gold trim that was the official colors of the URE. "Good to see you, Winters. Now, Shepard, what's this about a Threat Level Omega? And why is there a Raloi on my ship? No offense, of course."

"None taken, Captain."

"Eden Prime has gone dark shortly after the dig teams announced that they found something huge. I just spoke to Admiral Hackett over vid-comm, and he told me to scout ahead just in case the Yahg tried to pull something. The rest of the UREFOF is on their way," Commander Shepard explained as I listened intently. "Odds are, it's just the nebula storms that Utopia has been getting for the past few months. But Blood Legion Command seems to think that the excavation teams found Theta. Since we aren't sure, they sent Jorn here to investigate with us."

Both Anderson and I let out a bit of a gasp. The last Ark. The Conclave has been scouring the entire galaxy for it, even going as far as to invade portions of Yahg territory to do it. Since then, the URE and the Yahg Collective have been at war. Although a battle hasn't broken out yet, minor skirmishes along the Attican Traverse had filled the news feeds. "So I assume we are on course to Eden Prime?" Anderson asked, to which Shepard nodded. "Hell, Shepard, you don't need me here. It seems you are fine doing my job for me." We all shared a laugh, aside from Jorn, who remained unusually quiet.

"_Commander, its Joker. We're about to enter the Utopia System, so I'm engaging stealth systems and active camouflage. I'd suggest you come into the cockpit and judge what to do next based on what we see down there," _Joker said through the communication system that was wired throughout the entire ship. Before any of us could act, Jorn led the way to the cockpit in a hurried manor. Man, what was his problem?

* * *

"Exiting Subspace… now!" Joker shouted as I entered the room behind Anderson. "Stealth systems are engaged, we're invisible. I'm running scans, trying to see if we can find any lifeforms in orbit." We waited a few seconds, but we saw out the window what Joker began to find in his scans. "Guys, there's some kind of-"

"What the hell is that?" Anderson whispered just loud enough for all of us to hear. Joker looked up from his scanners and saw the large vessel in orbit over Eden Prime. After getting a good look, I backed out of the cockpit and ran to the armory, where the marines were still getting their gear on.

"Hey Winters, can you tell Michaels here that-"

"No time, Anders! Get your gear on _now_, and meet me in the Loading Bay as soon as all of you are ready! I want your weapons armed and ready to go, got it?! Double time!" I shouted at them, catching them off guard. I began to pull my own armor on quickly, but I had to make sure that I knew what was going on at all times. "Shepard, the marines are almost ready. Any word on what that thing might be?"

"_Jorn says it doesn't match any of the Reaper-Class vessels they found in one of the Arks. Joker is tracking the element zero signatures on the ship and, judging from the intel he's feeding me right now, it came from Yahg territory. More specifically, the Omega Relay."_

"Omega Relay…" I said to myself as I strapped the last shoulder pad on. That's uncharted territory, even the Yahg dare not go beyond it. The Council had forbidden anyone to go through it because everyone who did never returned. The Conclave had assumed that it led to some kind of Reaper fortification, but anything we sent through there lost communication and simply disappeared. "Alright, I'm on my way back, I've just gotta grab my weapons from the Requisitions Officer."

"Winters, I've got your weapons ready to go right here," Officer Mack said as he handed me several weapons. Using the technology we gained from the Arks, we were able to create more efficient weapons at the cost of the standard eezo feature of becoming smaller. The weapons don't require ammo and heat is consistently vented, so you never have to reload or recharge.

The Standard URE Pulse Rifle, or the Ravager, with attached Haven-Corps RD Sight for a primary weapon. It could switch between beam mode, which was mostly used to pick off targets from longer distances, and full auto, which could be used to suppress enemies in cover. As a secondary, I chose the Marksmen, which was a pistol that had similar functions to the Ravager. With my helmet locked into place, I ran back to the elevator and went down to the Loading Bay. "Alright, is everyone geared and ready to go?"

"Winters, how about you tell us what the hell is going on?" Anders asked before I could issue orders. "We overheard that this was TL-Omega, but you've never acted like this when we went to fight Yahg before."

"An unidentified vessel is currently in orbit over Eden Prime. We aren't sure what it is, but the UREFOF is on its way to quell the situation." Before I could continue, Commander Shepard walked in. "Commander, ma'am. Orders?"

"We need to get on the surface and secure the Ark. Survivors are a second priority, as much as I hate to say it. We need this Ark, or more lives maybe lost in the end. Got it?" The marines saluted and got into their pods. Modern technology created what we call ORCs, or Orbital Reentry Capsules. They're like these pods that allow marines to reach the surface in minutes without the risk of being shot down that comes with a shuttle. It also allows us to open up multiple fronts, which doesn't bode well for the enemies of the URE.

I got into my Orc and prepared for the drop. "Shepard, I've established a private comm. What's the plan?" I asked quietly as the pod locked into place.

"_Jorn is meeting us down there. Orc pods aren't designed for Raloi, so he'll be going down in a shuttle to evacuate survivors if possible. You know the marines best, Lieutenant, so I'll leave the specifics to you,"_ Shepard replied through the connection.

"Actually…" I started but grew silent. "Well, what if we send the marines to evacuate survivors? Whoever is here is most likely here for the Ark, and we'll be able to get passed their main force with a small team." There was silence on the other end, and I wasn't sure if she heard me or not.

"_Sorry, I was adding Jorn to the call. Re-explain your plan again." _I complied and spoke my thoughts to the two soldiers, who were patiently listening on the other side. When I was finished, Shepard spoke. _"I don't have any quarrels with that. Jorn?"_

"_It will do on such short notice," _the Raloi replied quietly. Well, I guess the Raloi aren't well known for their outgoing personalities. _"Designate one of your most trusted soldiers to lead them, and we three will secure the Ark for the Conclave." _Before he could continue, Shepard and I let out a surprised gasp as the Orcs were released and we plummeted to the surface.

"_Never quite get used to jumping," _Shepard muttered softly. I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins as we drew closer to the ground. _"Winters, your Orc is slightly off trajectory from the storms in the atmosphere. You are going to land a few blocks away. Rendezvous with us at these coordinates." _My omnitool beeped, and a set of numbers appeared. "_Impact ETA three… two… one…_" My entire world shook as my Orc impaled itself into the earth. I kicked the door open and, with my assault rifle ready, I felt the gentle breeze of the colony. The city we were in was devastated: the buildings were on fire and smoke was clouding the once-peaceful sky.

"I'll head to the designated point as soon as possible," I said into my helmet, but got no response. "Commander?" No reply yet again. "Shit, something is jamming my connection," I swore to myself. Well, in a brand new world that is under attack by unknown aliens and the entire population could be dead. How bad could this be?

* * *

"Shit, this is bad," I muttered quietly as I slid into cover. Two unknown figures were walking down the street in my direction, but they hadn't spotted me yet. They were tall, slim, and definitely _not _Yahg. One thing stood out to me that struck my paranoia nerve. _Where were the bodies of those who resisted?_

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I got my answer. The sound of weapons firing caught the attention of one of the figures, who quickly turned to where they were facing. A human, who only had a basic shield module from the looks of it, ran into the street and fired several rounds into one of the figures. I could only note that her simple pistol bypassed their shields completely. She scored a lucky shot as the one she was firing at collapsed to the ground, dead. The other figure, however, reacted much faster and released a swarm of what appeared to be insects at the woman. She continued firing, but eventually the swarm reached her and, from what I could tell, stung her. A golden brown field of some kind covered her, and she fell to the ground, unmoving.

The creature began to walk over to her, and the swarm disappeared. I looked around and found no other hostiles in my immediate vicinity, so I aimed my Ravager at the creature on Beam Mode and fired. Like I expected, the round went straight through the shielding and killed the creature instantly. I ran over to the woman, who was still laying there in the same stance as when she was stung. I drug her into a nearby building and closed the door, hiding us from any more hostiles. "Shepard, this is Winters! I have a survivor, repeat, I have a survivor! I engaged the enemy, and their shields are incredibly weak!"

"_Wint-s, this is Shep- we are wait- rendezvous poin- communic- knocked out. Do- read?" _Okay, I was in the vicinity of partial communications, that's good to know. I need to get closer if I want to have a full conversation though. I looked over at the woman, who was still in the paralyzed state. I was beginning to think she was dead, but my omnitool was giving me her vitals. This woman was very much still alive. Whatever these things wanted the humans for, they wanted them alive.

I rolled her over onto her back and slapped her face a few times. Nothing. It was like the swarm that stung her just made her immobile. "Shepard, do not engage the enemy! I repeat, do not engage! They have swarms of insects that will paralyze you! Do you copy?" Before anyone could respond, I heard a strange voice outside. I opened the door just a crack and gazed outside. Hostiles had come to investigate the sounds of gunshots. One of them, however, was glowing with these strange orange veins all over its body.

**Assuming Direct Control.**

Well, crap, that can't be good. From the looks of it, I've got a pack of four hostiles, including the new enemy-on-steroids that appears to be issuing commands. I'd have to kill them all before they release those swarms, or I'd end up like the gal next to me, who, by the way, _still _wasn't moving. I looked outside again, and I saw one of them coming near our building. Hopefully they don't have like some kind of hive mind, because otherwise, this silent kill won't work. I pushed the paralyzed woman to a hidden spot and got into position behind the door. The creature opened the door and began looking through. When it was fully in, I quickly closed the door behind it and reached for its head. As I pulled out my omniblade, it turned around and let out an insect-like hiss.

It pushed me back into the wall, and I stumbled backwards. It was about to release a swarm, but I lunged forwards before it could. I tackled it to the ground and we began exchanging blows. It got one of its legs underneath me and launched me into the wall yet again. My omnitool cracked and began emitting some kind of noise, like a high pitched whine. I tried to turn it off, but then I noticed something. The creature hadn't attacked me while I was distracted. I looked up and saw it trying to plug its equivalent of ears, only to fail. It fell to the ground, weakened but not dead. I raised the butt of my gun and prepared to smash its brains in before it held up a hand and said, "Wait."

Now, I'm not an expert on a race I just met, but these guys didn't seem like the type to use verbal communication. I mean, just a few seconds ago, it _hissed _at me. So I turned my gun back around and used the barrel as intended. "I think you have some explaining to do."

"You… you are human. A primitive from my cycle. Tell me, how did you stop the voice?" it asked in an accent that seemed… well, alien.

"The voice?"

"Yes. The voice. It orders me and my brothers to do its bidding. Your wrist tool… why is it making that noise?" I looked at my omnitool and began running diagnostics. It seems my 'anti-indoctrination' settings were sent on 'amplify.'

"Anti-indoctrination technology," I replied, looking at the creature before me in pity. "It seems to me that you may have been indoctrinated… tell me... what species are you?"

"I am a Prothean, is it not obvious?" it shot back a bit more sharply than I would've liked. I nodded slowly, seeing several similarities between him and the models of his species we have back on Earth. "Oh, I apologize… Having sentience in this body will take some getting used to." He looked over at the paralyzed woman lying on the ground. "Did… I do that?"

"No, one of your brothers did. He's dead now, so we can't do much about it. Is it possible to reverse the effects?" I asked quickly, checking her vitals. "Also, what should I call you?"

"My old name… this new form is unfit for such a worthy title. Instead, you may call me Goeth, the Prothean Avatar of Redemption. As for whether I can revive the other human…" Goeth walked over to the stiff woman and examined her. "Ah, yes. This is Prothean Stasis Technology. The Reapers didn't want to waste resources upgrading... my people… with their own stasis technology. I should be able to dissipate the field with… aha!"

The woman went limp, no longer held in place by the stasis field. She immediately rolled over and aimed her pistol at Goeth, who responded by drawing the weapon on his back. It appeared to be some kind of particle weapon, one that humanity must've bypassed on our huge advancement era. "Whoa, whoa! Let's just calm down, everyone! Tensions are running high, I just need you both to _lower your weapons_!"

"That… _thing_ is responsible for the abduction of nearly every colonist on the planet, and you want me to _play nice_?!" the woman shouted. I looked back and saw the three other Prothean husks nearing the door as a result of the commotion we caused.

"Hostiles!" I shot back, kicking the door open. Goeth and the woman joined me at my back and opened fire on the husks as they tried to release their swarms. I focused on the one who was glowing with the veins of energy, its barriers unable to resist my superior weaponry for very long. The other two dropped rather quickly, but the super-husk was still struggling.

**I am the Harbinger of your destruction…**

Harbinger… that name sounds familiar. Before I could ponder it for much longer, I heard more shouting and gun shots. I turned around to see surviving colonists allied with marines from my squad running through the streets. Prothean husks were trying their best to release their swarms, but they were being picked off too fast. "Do you know them?" the woman asked.

"Yeah. That's my team over there, gathering civilians. C'mon… what was your name?"

"Elizabeth Kennedy, former URE Demolitionists Chief," she replied.

"Well, Elizabeth, I've got to rendezvous with my squad. Goeth… I suggest lagging behind until I explain to them your… special circumstances," I told him as I began running ahead. I saw Commander Shepard leading the charge, but Jorn was nowhere to be seen. "Shepard, we need to talk."

"Winters, glad to see you in one piece. Is this the survivor you told me about over the comm?" the Commander asked as she looked over the colonists. "I'm planning a resistance movement. Their shields can't stand up to our superior weapons, so we can easily take back the city from these bastards."

"Shepard, look. These creatures are… they're Prothean husks," I told her, causing a look of surprise to cover her face. "And I also figured something else out. Husks are warped by the Reapers, but they control them just like they control everything else."

"Indoctrination," said a voice from behind me. I turned to see Goeth stroll up beside me. Shepard looked at me with confusion, but the Prothean decided explain for me. "While fighting me one on one, Winters omnitool broadcast a signal that interrupted the Reapers indoctrination signal. I was free once again."

"I sent you out with coordinates to a rendezvous point, and you bring me back an honest-to-God living Prothean…" Shepard said with a wide grin on her face. "Looks like you might earn that N7 rank after all, Lieutenant. Good work. Now, you…"

"Goeth," I answered quickly.

"Goeth. We are looking for an Ark, which will greatly help us in the coming war with the Reapers. Considering your special… circumstances, I suggest you stick with me. Do you agree?"

"You seem like a strong leader, Commander. I will follow you."

"Good. Jorn scouted ahead to the Ark Dig Site, he's transmitting its location to me. Let's head out before these beasties get any ideas about fortifying the area. Everyone, move out!"

**Crew Updated: Goeth and Elizabeth Kennedy has joined the Normandy.**

* * *

**CODEX UPDATED:**

**Commander Alexandria 'Lexi' Shepard: **The strong leader and second in command of the _USV Normandy_, Shepard has braved many encounters with the Yahg, making her a formidable soldier. She was present at the Eden Prime Husk War, in which the URE fought the legions of Salarian Husks, or 'Nerds,' for control of the ruins that would later house the Theta Ark. Her combat expertise is so widely renown that he has been considered for the Blood Legions. She is, like most humans, a natural biotic, and has chosen to be a Vanguard-Class soldier.

**Lieutenant Kenneth Winters:** Commander of the marines aboard the _USV Normandy_, Winters is well liked among his men and has fought with Shepard many times against the Yahg. He has been a potential candidate for N7, and his history with Commander Shepard only fortifies his chances for being selected. He is one of the rare few of humans who are not biotic, but he makes up for this with brute strength and military cunning. He is a Marine-Class soldier, choosing to use ammunition types and combat stims to best his foes in combat.

**Jorn Ironwing: **A Raloi Legionnaire, Jorn comes from the _Kkrarkir _Nest, which is famous for its warrior offspring. Not much is known about the avian other than the fact that he is a skilled scout and has the most renown hit-miss ratio with a sniper rifle in the entire Blood Legions. He is one of the Conclaves most trusted agents and, because of this, has been selected to oversee the requisitioning of the Theta Ark. He is an Infiltrator-Class soldier, but has minor biotic abilities that allow him to surprise enemies.

**Goeth:** Not much is known about this Former-Collector other than the fact that he has named himself as the new Avatar of Redemption. Freed from Harbinger's control by Lieutenant Winters during the Second Eden Prime Husk Wars, Goeth has made it his personal goal to aid this new cycle in their war against the Reapers as an advisor. Slowly, he is remembering the atrocities he has committed as a Collector, but he plans to atone with these horrors by helping the Conclave. He is an Adept-Class soldier, wielding unknown forms of Prothean biotics.

**Chief Elizabeth Kennedy: **A survivor from the Second Eden Prime Husk War, Elizabeth was caught in a stasis field by a Collector before she was freed by Goeth and Winters. She has an understandable distrust of Goeth, but has agreed to work alongside him for the good of the mission. When Winters found her, she was in her colonist garb, but in fact, she was a former URE Demolitions Expert on All Things that Go Boom. Because of this, Shepard and Winters have agreed to give her a spot on the crew. She is a Marine-Class soldier.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter One is done! One thing I should mention is that, while this story is about Commander Shepard, it won't be from her perspective. Also, I forgot to say this in the first chapter, but all of this is considered NONCANON (should be obvious, but you'd be surprised at the amount of people who forget that) and all of the story elements belong to Bioware. Also, if you want to see what I have based the Raloi on, go check out Argentinaland on Deviant Art! The concepts are incredible, and I'm terribly sad we never got to see them in game. All credit goes to her for the art and stuff, but if you haven't seen it, it is really cool. I guess that's it for the first official chapter of Legacy. Thorne out!**


	3. Freedom for All

Mass Effect: Legacy  
Chapter Two: Freedom for All

**A/N: We've got a long one today, numbering in over 5000 words. Also, I just wanted to point this out because someone said it in a review, when I said a war can't be won in secrecy, I didn't mean like espionage and keeping plans secret. What I meant when I said that was you can't hide the enemy from your people. In Mass Effect, the Council gave stories about how Sovereign was a Geth Dreadnought, and look where that got them! In Legacy, the Conclave makes sure their people are very much aware of the enemy and are ready to deal with the effects of going to war with them. That's what I meant. Hopefully that's clarified. Coolio.**

* * *

"Shepard, what's the plan here?" I asked, pulling the Commander aside as the marines led the survivors towards a safe zone.

"What do you mean?" she inquired, not taking her attention off of the datapad she was looking at. "I already told you; we need to get to the Ark and secure it before these husks can alert their friends in the sky. Then the UREFOF will arrive and take down their ship in orbit. What part of that is confusing, Lieutenant?"

"Shepard, take a look around," I told her, pulling the datapad away. "This is a warzone, right?" Shepard nodded in agreement. "Then where the hell are the bodies?" Her eyes grew wide and she began looking around. Just as I predicted, she found none. "Commander, these husks aren't killing the colonists. They're _collecting _them. And I'd wager that the only place these things could be taking them is the giant painted target currently in the sights of the UREFOF!"

"We have to warn the fleet… but the damn ship is jamming our communications!" she shouted in aggravation. "Why don't you ask your new friend, Goeth, for some intel regarding the ship, okay? I'm going to figure out how the hell we're going to get out of this mess."

"Yes, ma'am." I rushed off to go find the Prothean husk. I found him near the gate, and under circumstances that I knew was inevitable. Two of my men had their rifles pointed at Goeth, and the Prothean had his particle rifle and pistol drawn in self defense. "What the hell is going on?"

"I caught him stealing some URE tech!" Private Anders replied. "He was probably going to give it to the enemy so they could gather intel on us!"

"Anders, Michaels, if you want to keep your rank intact, I suggest you lower your weapons," I told them, forcing their barrels lower with my hand. "Now go do something _productive_, or we'll get to see how Prothean weaponry operates first hand!" The two marines grumbled and jogged off to find some damsel in distress to save. "Sorry, tensions are running high. Three quarters of the colony is missing, and you look like the guys who did it."

"I understand, Lieutenant Winters. Now, you didn't come over here to strike conversation. What can I help you with?" Goeth asked as he holstered his weapons.

"I need to know what happened to the people in the colony. If there was an armed conflict between them, there'd be bodies in the streets. Is there anything you can tell me that would help solve this mystery?"

"They are aboard the ship. Unfortunately, there is no way to get them back without a full frontal assault. We don't have the manpower to perform that kind of attack. Unless…" Goeth started, but let the end of the sentence drop off.

"What? At this point, we're accepting all options, Goeth."

"The anti-indoctrination signal. If we can broadcast it across the city, then we can release them from their torture. We will free your people from their prisons, of that, you have my word," Goeth explained. I thought about it briefly, but I wasn't convinced.

"We can't guarantee that all of them will act the way you did when you were released. I mean, we're talking about organisms augmented to last for tens of thousands of years. Who knows what kind of psychological impact that can have on someone, not to mention the fact that they've been enslaved as mindless drones the entire time," I replied. "I'll relay this to Commander Shepard, see what she thinks. In the meantime, try to stay out of trouble."

"As you wish, Winters."

* * *

_Several Moments Later_

"He wants to _what?"_ Shepard asked, looking up from the datapad she was staring intently at. I reiterated the plan to Shepard, who appeared to be in deep thought. "Actually, that's not bad. We need to find some way to transmit the signal… Now, if I remember from the old days of the Eden Prime Husk Wars, there should be a communication tower near the dig site. If we can get to it, we should be able to project a signal with wide enough range to cover the entire city. The _Normandy_ can project its own signal to get the ship in orbit, but we'll need the comm tower to be able to contact them. I want your men ready to move out in five, Winters. I need to tell Jorn about the new rendezvous point."

"Yes, ma'am. But, Commander… what do we with them afterwards? We're talking about an entire species here, not a weapon. Will the Conclave be okay with releasing a new race on the galaxy?" I asked. "And how many of them do you think are left? I can't imagine it would be a ton…"

"Who knows, Lieutenant," Shepard replied. "But when we found the Asari, they were on the brink of extinction. If we hadn't found them when we did, they would've disappeared from the galactic stage forever. Now we have the chance to add another species to the list of those we've saved. Go on, Winters, I want those marines ready yesterday, got it?"

"I'll get right on it, Commander." I jogged over to where my men were casually standing, with Michaels and Anders silent near the back of the crowd. "Alright, listen up, ladies. Our target's changed, we're going to secure the communications tower near the dig site. I want heavy infantry in front and CQC specialists covering our six. Any questions?"

"No, sir!"

"Then let's move out. I've had enough of this damn planet…"

* * *

_Twenty Minutes Later_

"We've got hostiles, nine o'clock!" I heard a soldier shout over the sound of URE energy rounds discharging in the direction of the enemy. Our forces, while much better equipped, were vastly outnumbered. Even with the remaining Eden Prime Militia backing us up, the odds were still around three to one. The husks were pressing their advantage by ordering flank teams to attempt to break our line. Of course, they'd have to find a way to get past our energy weapons, which were far more superior to their mass effect weapons.

"Bryans, I need suppressing fire! Don't let them break through!" I shouted back, and our heavy machine gunner moved into position. The tripod folded out, and the M766 _Quake_ began firing energy rounds into the enemy at an unbelievable rate, and the flanking team began to fall back. I fired a few more energy beams into the enemy, until my shielding collapsed and forced me into cover.

"Winters, sir!" Bryans yelled over his rain of death and destruction. "The _Quake_ can't keep up a continuous stream of fire like the _Ravagers_! It's going to overheat unless we do something about these flanking teams!"

"Don't worry boys! Cavalry has arrived!" I heard a woman shout, and I turned to see a sky car speed through the air at speeds which are probably going to cause the vehicles internal core to overheat rather quickly. Shepard was gunning from the craft with an XM67 Contact-Trigger Grenade Launcher, which unleashed a torrent of shrapnel on the husks, who had begun to slowly retreat. The XM67 is one of the few URE weapons which still use ammunition in order to operate. There were rumors about the production of an XM68, which would use balls of pure energy to cause explosions instead of the outdated frag grenades.

"Push forward, ladies! Goeth, Elizabeth, on me!" I ordered as I leapt over cover. Short range communications are still online, but we can't contact the _Normandy_ with the Prothean ship jamming our connection. Hopefully, once we get this comm tower secured, we can punch a message through and tell them to project the anti-indoctrination signal at the ship.

_"Winters, it's Jorn. I'm at the dig site, and I've secured what appears to be the Ark. However, the husks are growing more and more desperate, and I can't hold them off for much longer. You need to get that signal out before I get overwhelmed."_

"Shepard is speeding ahead in the sky car to clear out some of the bigger hostiles. We should be at the communications tower in around ten mikes, can you hold out that long?" I asked while sprinting towards the fleeing husks.

_"I will do my best. Just try to hurry it up. I'd like to return to the Legions with my beak still intact,"_ Jorn said with a weak laugh. _"And I have confirmed our theories, if I didn't make that obvious earlier. This is indeed Theta Ark. I had begun scanning the contents before I was interrupted. What I found was rather interesting…"_

"Anything worthy of noting?"

_"It has a self contained power generator, much like the one we found that kept the weapons operational in the Delta Ark. This generator is much larger, though, and has an exponentially greater power output. I'll let you know if I find anything… groundbreaking," _Jorn replied quietly.

"Good to hear. Just hold your position, and we'll have the husks on our side in less than ten. Winters out." I disconnected from his connection and focused on the battle at hand. Commander Shepard was way ahead on a scouting run with the sky car, and she was supposed to be feeding info to us directly. "Shepard, status update."

_"We've got a large amount of husks converging around the Ark, making our job easier. Unfortunately, Jorn's about to meet the brunt of the attack, and not even a Legionnaire can withstand those kinds of numbers. I'm going to fly overhead and see if I can thin them, but I'm running out of frags."_

"Alright, men, double time! Let's capture that comm tower and end this thing! Daniels, take point! Bryans, I want you on our left flank! Anders, take the right flank! I'll watch our six and make sure the husks don't double back for some kind of ambush! Let's move!"

* * *

_Ten Minutes Later_

"We're here _on the dot, _men! Good work! Elizabeth, you said you were some kind of an engineer?" I asked, distracted with issuing orders to bar ourselves within the facility. As I predicted, the husks wanted to throw us off, so they diverted some of the forces headed towards the Ark back to the communications array in order to sandwich us between two teams. We pushed through on the other side and managed to hole ourselves up, establishing defensive positions and setting up traps.

"I'm an explosives chief, Lieutenant, not a computer whiz!" she shouted back as she armed a handful of URE Spider Mines on the ceiling above the entrance to the facility. "I make explosive compounds, not decrypt enemy transmissions."

"Fine, just… back up the marines and the Militia down here. Goeth, you'll probably want to make a transmission to your people once we free them from indoctrination. Come with me to the upper levels so we can prepare the signal," I ordered, kicking open the door to the stairs. "Shepard, it's Winters. Get ready to hold your fire on my mark, we're about to transmit the… what the hell is that?"

Goeth took a gaze out the window I was looking at, and shouted, "Get down!" while tackling me to the ground. Some kind of creature hovering out the window with four limbs had begun charging two particle beams that flanked its sides. The glass shattered under the extreme heat of the particle weaponry, and shards of it showered over us. "Praetorian, keep your head down?"

"What the hell is a Praetorian?" I asked while pulling myself up and sliding into cover.

"It is an anti-armor unit of the Reapers, created through the fusing of over thirty husks and twin particle lasers. This one appears to be made from… turians…" Goeth replied solemnly. I poked my head back over the guard rail to get a better look at it. It was all rigid, which matched the characteristics of a turian, I suppose.

"So how do we fight it?"

"It has very strong barriers and armor. Luckily, thanks to your advanced weaponry, we can bypass both relatively easy. In this case, it is what we call a _glass cannon_. Don't get hit by the particle weaponry, though. I've seen plenty of armored transports be ripped to shreds by a single Praetorian alone," Jorn explained as I checked my _Ravager_'s current fire mode. I made sure it was on full automatic, and prepared to open fire on the creature. "No. Allow me, Lieutenant. While I have it distracted, get the transmission ready. Maybe we won't have to kill it if you manage to get the signal prepared to be transmitted."

I nodded to him and peeked over the rail towards the terminals on the other side of the room. While over there, I would be greatly exposed to an attack from the Praetorian, so Goeth better do as he promises, otherwise I'm going to end up as a pile of organic paste on the ground. I gave him the signal, and he jumped out to open fire on the Praetorian. Being fired on by one of its own surprised it, but the Praetorian instantly adapted and began to charge its particle beams while they were zeroed in on Goeth.

Meanwhile, I charged across the room while making sure my head was low enough to avoid too much detection from the floating mass of turian corpses. I got to the other side of the room and began tapping away at the terminal in order to access the transmission codes. The room began shaking as the particle beams tore up the metal flooring and the terminals behind me. Goeth was successfully keeping it occupied, performing some kind of Prothean martial arts to flip around and prevent the Praetorian from getting a solid lock on him.

The ruckus from our battle brought several of the militia members up here to investigate. Instantly, the Praetorian saw an easier target and locked on with its particle weapons. Before the two soldiers could even react, solid beams of energy tore up the path in front of them and, as it drew closer, the soldiers themselves. They were nothing more than smoldering piles of ash. Their shields did practically nothing against the creature.

I began to upload the signal into the terminal, since this stuff wasn't standard issue when it comes to broadcasting towers. From what I could tell, this was some kind of radio station that played music, not a military installation. If it were, we would've found lots of guns to better arm the militia. As it is, they were using civilian-grade thermal clip weapons that were still in use. Energy weapons were used only by the government, since you didn't need energy weapons to hunt recreationally. Unless you wanted to cook the deer at the same time…

By the time it reached 25%, I could tell that Goeth couldn't keep up his distraction much longer. The husks were moving against the communication tower in force, and even with our superior weapons, we were being outnumbered. I could see several more Praetorians flying in the distance, strafing allied forces with their particle weapons. "Shepard, the uploading has begun."

_"Good, let me know when it's complete. I dropped a few men off to help Jorn defend the Ark, but then these flying… bug things came out of nowhere and started shooting lasers at us. We had to get out of there, and now they're flying in pursuit." _While she was talking, I was looking out the window at the massing Prothean Husk army. Then something caught my eye… something very, _very _bad.

"They're releasing swarms!" I shouted, which caught Goeth's attention immediately. I sprinted downstairs quickly to find my men preparing for the husks to breach their position. "I need all available biotics, now!" Nearly all of my men stood up with their guns raised, as did several civilians and militia members. "They're releasing the paralytic swarms of insects on the station. I need each and every one of you to man a window or door and project a barrier on it! Not a single one of them gets in, got it? We only need to hold for a few minutes!"

The marines and militia members saluted while the civilians scurried off to find a window to man. I hated putting them in the line of fire, but we had no other choice. If _one_ of those insects get in here, then they can paralyze a biotic user, which will allow the entire swarm to enter through the new entrance. I ran back up stairs, where Goeth was still doing his dance with the Praetorian. Locking on to me, the newcomer, with its particle weapons, I dodged to the side before it could successfully get a bead on me. "Be careful, human!"

"Swap places!" I shouted to Goeth, who was looking extremely tired from his bout with the abomination. "Get ready to make some kind of announcement to your people. We need to make sure that they stop firing on us and we stop firing on them, or else this entire thing is for nil!" With Goeth on the terminal and myself fighting the Praetorian, the tables were turned. I had nowhere near the same martial prowess as Goeth, but I had extremely powerful guns. Hopefully that would give me the edge I need to at least keep this thing off of our friendly neighborhood Prothean long enough for the signal to transmit.

I pulled out my _Marksmen_ and fired several rounds into the Praetorian's barriers, which collapsed as easily as the normal husks' shields, albeit with an extra round or two for good measure. The creature let out an unearthly shriek and began glowing a bright purple, which resembled biotics. It slammed on the ground, out of view, but I could hear several shrieks from below. The swarms had begun invading the doorways and windows, but as far as I could tell, we were keeping them at bay. Except for the upstairs window, which was broken from the Praetorian's initial assault…

"Goeth, can you do something about the swarms?" I asked while trying to shoot the large groupings of the insects that were approaching quickly. Instead of giving me an answer, he pulled me towards the terminal and projected a sphere of biotic energy around us. The swarms were trying desperately to break in, but the barrier was too strong.

I took a gander at the terminal, which said the download was at 95%. So close… the bar was progressing towards the end at a snail's pace. I began to hear screaming down below, which signified the fact that the swarms used their upstairs access to begin invading downstairs. The sound of gunfire told me that the marines were trying what I was earlier, only it was too ineffective at clearing them out at a fast enough rate. Let's see _you_ try to shoot hundreds of wasp like creatures with a gun before they can sting you.

I glanced at the download yet again, and saw that it was complete. Goeth was straining under the pressure of the barrier, so I made it a point to get this done as fast as possible. I entered the designated transmission codes and waited (_very _impatiently, I might add) for the codes to authorize. When they were finished, I pressed the transmit signal, and the high pitched whine of the indoctrination signal pierced the gunfire downstairs.

At first, I didn't notice anything… until the swarms that were trying to paralyze us dropped dead on the spot. Goeth, with a sigh of relief, dropped his barrier that was surrounding us and made his way to the terminal. I immediately ran downstairs to survey the damage. _"We got the signal, Winters, and all of the hostile forces have ceased fighting and put down their guns._"

"Good to hear, Commander. Goeth is going to give a speech or something to explain their predicament to the other Protheans. I'm not sure how they're react, but at least the fighting has ceased around the Ark. Any word from Jorn?"

_"He's alive, if that's what you're asking. That flying creature knocked out his comms, but I'm still registering life signs. I'm flying back over to deal with the Ark. Send word to the _Normandy_ so they can project the signal at the ship," _Shepard ordered. I confirmed and looked at my men. A few had the brown stasis field that was once over Elizabeth. Luckily for her, she remained untouched by the insects. Every time I took a step, I could hear the sickening crunch of the insects underneath my boot.

When I knew my men had suffered no casualties from the Praetorian that had launched itself downwards earlier when I had taken its shields down, I went back upstairs to relay the Commander's message to Joker, who was still waiting in orbit over Eden Prime. Goeth, however, was giving the last words of his speech, which I had been ignoring as I made sure my marines and the civilians were untouched.

"What the Reapers have done to us is unforgivable! We were Prothean, leaders of the largest empire in galactic history! We will not allow the machines to twist us and warp us as their weapons! We have already brought about the end of one civilization… now let us redeem ourselves through aiding our new allies against the coming End War! Remember the kindness these humans have shared with our people on this day, and never forget the atrocities of the Prothean-Reaper War! For the Empire!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!"

I could hear the Prothean-equivalent of wild cheering outside. In layman's terms, that means a military salute and the proclamation of honor towards their former empire. "So, what does this mean in terms of our Conclave?"

"We will join your organization to fight the Reapers. Unfortunately, the majority of our people still remain indoctrinated at our main base of operations. The invasion force that came here today is less than a fraction of our overall population. If we free them… maybe our Empire has a chance at being formidable once again…" I nodded in agreement and made my way over to the terminal once again to fire off one last message.

"_Normandy_, this is Lieutenant Kenneth Winters, reporting from planetside Eden Prime. I'm going to need you to do me a bit of a favor, if you don't mind."

_"This is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, I read you loud and clear. What can we do for you, kiddo?"_ I heard through the built in speakers of the terminal.

"You can start by never calling me kiddo again," I said with a laugh. "No, I need you to project the anti-indoctrination signal in the direction of the enemy vessel. I'll explain everything once we get this mess sorted out, okay?"

_"You got it, Winters. Stay… frosty…" _Joker replied, which was followed by silence. _"Okay, I think we can agree that I'll never say that again._"

"Agreed. Put me on with Anderson and the UREFOF Captains. I think they're going to want to hear about our new friends…"

* * *

_Meanwhile, from Jorn's POV…_

The husks had fallen back after a moment of temporary confusion, which I can only imagine meant that the signal had worked. The marines that were dropped off by Commander Shepard joined me by my side as we watched the enemy retreat. One of them raised their rifle to fire them, but I pushed it back down with my wing. "The plan worked. They're no longer the enemy." I gave them their orders and returned to the dig site, where the entrance to the Ark was located. Contrary to popular belief, an Ark is _not_ a small box that contains a few datapads and an MHD pulse cannon. Sometimes it ranged from the size of a shack to the more grand designs of a warehouse. This one happened to be relatively large and contained large amounts of automated defenses.

I know the protocol regarding Arks. Legionnaires have to wait for back up before pressing further into the facility, but my interest was piqued about this generator. Whatever was down here must be huge, especially if it is a weapon. Advanced MHD weaponry doesn't require too much power, and this generator happened to possess enough energy to power an entire frigate's worth of MHD weapons. And, in the case of the United Realm of Earth's fierce military doctrine, is a _lot_ of MHD weapons.

I made my way further down the shaft that led to the entrance of the Ark. Communications down here would be next to impossible unless I reached the inside of the Ark itself, which would boost the signal through the ground. By the time I reached the entrance, I had been underneath the surface for a good twenty minutes. The door slid open to reveal a small lab-like area. I honestly expected more for something that contained a massive generator, but the only thing I could tell was significant enough for immediate inspection was a large man-sized container in the center.

I approached, careful to not set off any traps or something. When I got to the container, I noticed that the surface was actually made of glass. The lights immediately turned on, and the facility whirred to life. _"Organic entity detected. It has been: _298 Years _since the facility went dark to prevent Reaper detection. Beginning designated protocols."_

I took a step backwards as the container in front of me hissed, letting a mysterious mist seep onto the floor. As it curled around my legs, I could feel its cold nature through even my armor. The glass that covered the front of the container slid forward, revealing some kind of specimen that had previously lay confined within. I froze as I heard a groan, and the creature inside slowly sat up while simultaneously clutching its head as if it had a headache.

"Damn, I hate cryostasis…" the flanging voice muttered quietly. "Oh, yeah... protocols… Greetings, my fellow organic companion, I hope you come in peace… I represent the Turian Hegemony that fought the Reapers. In case this is the first cache that you find, the Reapers are a race of mechano-organic beings that-"

"We know what the Reapers are…" I interrupted politely. I was staring intently at the figure, which looked like the portrayal of the Turians we had back on the Bastion. "You… you're turian…"

"Yeah, must come as a shock, considering we're all dead. Last I heard, Palaven was being bombarded heavily by Reaper forces, and Thessia was in complete ruins. Since I have awoken in the next era, I take it we… lost the war…" I nodded slowly, still taking it in. This was a _living turian_… I remember the day we found the Asari in their hidey holes, living off of scraps and barely holding off the husks.

"Why were you put in cryostasis?" I asked.

"I fought the Reapers with a group of mercenaries after Saren Arterius betrayed the Council and allowed the Reapers to destroy the Citadel. I was the closest thing we had to an expert on the Reapers, and after the Citadel fell, we knew the war was taking a turn for the worst. As much as I begged them to let me fight to the death on my home planet, my orders were to advise the next era in the war so that they don't fall to the same fate as me," the turian explained.

"A noble goal, one that we will greatly appreciate, Mr.… I'm afraid you never gave me your name, turian."

"Oh, of course. My name… is Ambassador Garrus Vakarian. I'm required to add that Ambassador part, but I'd much rather just be called Garrus."

"A pleasure, Garrus. I think my superiors will be very, _very _glad that you have graced us with your help during the coming End War. Please, come with me," I told him as I made my way out of the facility. He grabbed what appeared to be a sniper rifle and latched it onto his armor, and then joined me on our ascent back to the surface.

* * *

**CODEX UPDATED:**

**Technology:**

**Standard URE Assault Rifle: **Also known as the _Ravager_, the SUAR is a handheld MHD weapon that utilizes two different firing modes: Beam Mode and Full Auto. Beam Mode is able to fire concentrated forms of pure energy which can break armor with a single shot, not including shielding. In Full Auto, the weapon is able to fire bolts of pure energy that lack the stopping power of Beam Mode, but is able to fire extremely fast to provide suppressing fire. Modern technology has made it possible that the weapon is able to constantly vent heat at a rate that means, even if you hold down the trigger for hours, it will not overheat.

**Standard URE Handgun: **Also known as the _Marksmen_, the SUH is standard issued to every soldier on the field for its wide variety of uses. It has two modes: Semi-Automatic and Welding Mode. In Semi-Automatic, the _Marksmen_ can fire off rounds at speeds that are determined by the wielders trigger finger. The second mode, Welding Mode, turns the weapon into a tool. With it, you can weld doors shut or open, break constraints, and even use it as a weapon if the situation calls for it. Much like the _Ravager,_ the _Marksmen_ is able to constantly vent the heat generated and never overheat.

**M766 Quake: **The standard issued Heavy Machinegun in the URE Armed Forces, the _Quake_ is able to fire energy bolts at a rate much faster and stronger than the _Ravager_, but it is unable to keep up with the heat that is generated as a result. Because of this, the _Quake_ has to vent heat every so often or risk a meltdown. Still, modern technology means that the venting process is still much faster than that of standard mass effect field weapons.

**XM67 Contact-Trigger Grenade Launcher: **One of the last ammunition-dependent weapons in the URE, or the Conclave for that matter, the XM67 uses URE Fragmentation Grenade to provide fully automatic fire. They are primarily used from low-flying aircraft and are sometimes augmented with heavy ammunition feeders and mounted on vehicles. It is rumored that the URE is developing an energy-dependent alternative to the XM67, allowing the URE to become one step closer to being completely dependent of munitions to supply their military.

* * *

**A/N: So, you were all yammering about why I didn't free all of the Collectors last chapter, and now you know why. Also, it appears to me like this story is _really_ popular. Like, already-over-two-and-a-half-thousand-views popular. While the Effect of One has twice as many views, it also has like five times more chapters. So, as of now, Legacy takes priority over Effect of One. That doesn't mean that I won't update Effect of One (which I need to do, by the way), it just means that I'll update Legacy more often than Effect of One. Make sense? Coolio. Love, Thorne. **


	4. Project Helios

Mass Effect: Legacy  
Chapter Three: Project Helios

**A/N: First off, I just wanted to say that Mass Effect belongs to Bioware, as well as all characters that fall under that. All OC's belong to me, though. That said, I know some people won't like this chapter. I wanted to note that I've had this planned since the beginning, and that I largely write for myself and, if you don't like it, don't read it. Anyway, without further ado, here's Chapter Three.**

* * *

Shepard said the Captains of the UREFOF wanted to meet with us, but she didn't mention anything like this. Goeth, Shepard, Elizabeth and I were all standing before ten Captains that represented the rest of the First Offensive Fleet aboard the _USV Judgment Day_, a Dreadnought-Class ship armed with enough firepower to incinerate the Earth fifty times over. One man stood out with his uniform displaying more medals than the rest: Admiral Steven Hackett. He stepped forward as the representative of the URE against the New Prothean Empire, which is what Goeth was calling his people.

"I'm trusting Shepard's word here because I knew her during the Eden Prime Husk War, and I trust her word. Also, the fact that every captured civilian was returned unharmed to their homes is another reason, but we humans aren't too keen on trusting a new race that attacked our colony," Hackett told the Prothean. "So you've got one shot: explain what the hell is going on."

"We Protheans were a race of proud people over fifty thousand years ago, until the Reapers wiped us out," Goeth started, causing the Captains to gasp in surprise. Even Admiral Hackett looked baffled. "However, the Reapers weren't sated with our entire annihilation, and so they twisted and bent the survivors' minds to serve them when the next cycle came to a close."

"Indoctrinated to do their bidding, huh?" Hackett mumbled quietly. "Well, under the Indoctrination Forgiveness Act, we are legally required to pardon you for these acts. And, under the Reaper-Afflicted Adoption Act that we extended to the Asari, we offer our military services to protect your species in any way possible."

"One question though," a Captain asked from the back of the large conference room. "If you are survivors of the Prothean-Reaper War, which was fifty thousand years ago… how are you here now? The longest lived race that we know of is the Asari, and that's only one millennium."

"The Reapers augmented us with advanced cybernetics that preserved our organic tissue. We are more machine then Prothean now, but the memories and the past of the Prothean Empire are still fresh and clear," Goeth said, causing the captain to nod in return. "This, combined with the use of cryostasis devices, has prolonged our longevity by a large margin."

"But if you're all part machine, then how will you… you know… reproduce?" another captain asked. Goeth looked at the man, but was unable to provide him an answer.

Hackett spoke up, breaking the awkward silence that followed the question. "Recently, the URE has put forth massive amounts of research into genetic manipulation studies." He pulled out a holo disk and pushed the button on the front. A standard human double helix DNA strand appeared and was rotating around. "We should be able to replicate a Prothean embryo using tissue with ease. In fact, it was one of the first things we were able to accomplish. It's what we did for the Asari, and it's what we will do for you."

"One of the first?" I asked, not sure I've ever heard something like this. "What else have we done? Resurrecting an old race isn't classified under 'child's play' in my book, Admiral."

"Officially, that's classified, Lieutenant. We can discuss this more after we decide what to do with… the New Prothean Empire." Hackett put the holo disk away and picked up a datapad with some notes on it. "Now, these reports say that you are only a fraction of your total population. 78 of your people were killed in the fighting today, which leaves 232 Protheans under our protection. It's a start, Goeth, but we need to know where the rest of your people are."

"I'm afraid when I was liberated from indoctrination, all strategic Reaper-controlled locations were wiped from my memory," Goeth explained.

"I can answer that question, Admiral. After all, I've seen the Collector Base personally," a voice from the back interrupted. We all looked back to see Jorn standing there with a hooded figure. "Our mission failed, but I returned with important intel. But it was too little, too late for my people."

"And who might 'your people' be?" Hackett asked. Several guards became paranoid and raised their weapons at the figure.

"The Turian Hierarchy," he said, pulling the hood down. The face of a creature… a being that I've never seen before was revealed from the shadows. "Ambassador Garrus Vakarian, at your service." The turian extended a hand to the Admiral, who was staring at him with a shocked expression. "I take it you people aren't used to seeing a turian, alive and walking. Glad to see you putting our Arks to good use, though. The calibrations on the ships MHD Cannons are truly remarkable."

"Commander Shepard, do you know anything about this?" Hackett whispered to the wide-eyed commander in a language they assumed Garrus didn't understand.

"I brought one race back from the dead, Admiral. I think two is overdoing it," she replied, unable to take her eyes off of the turian and the Raloi that accompanied him. "Jorn, what the hell took you so long?"

"I went into the Ark out of curiosity," the Raloi told Shepard quickly. "Its cargo was rather game changing, if I say so myself. Garrus is the last surviving turian in existence, and he has pledged himself to aid the Conclave with our war against the Reapers. Also, when he says Collectors, he means the Protheans."

"Why call them the Collectors?" I asked.

"We started calling them that before we knew they were Protheans. They would come out of the Omega Relay in the Terminus Systems and trade advanced technology, most likely Reaper tech, in exchange for… people. They would make odd requests, such as sixteen sets of Batarian twins, two dozen left-handed salarians, pure Quarians, and things like that. Unfortunately, they set their eyes on us. The turians," Garrus began explaining. "Anything come to mind, drone?"

"I apologize, turian, for the acts we have committed while under the machine's control. Nothing I can say will make up for the monstrosities we have performed against your people. But I promise you, I have no recollection of what went on at this 'Collector Base,'" Jorn replied.

"Allow me to give you a refresher course on Collector 101, then," Garrus continued. "You harvested turian colonies under the nose of the Hierarchy, mostly those we had begun to colonize in the Attican Traverse in the 2150's. After the Batarian Crackdown of 2146, the Council had voted against any militarized action within the Attican Traverse to prevent war with the Terminus Systems. When our colonies began disappearing in 2180, the Hierarchy could do _nothing_.

"In 2183, when the traitor, Saren Arterius, unleashed the Reapers with Sovereign, their Vanguard, through the Citadel, the Collectors began to speed up their harvesting while we were preoccupied with an entire war," Garrus explained, on the verge of shouting at the Prothean. "Eventually, you came to Palaven, where you picked up every last turian who wasn't already a husk. After I failed to stop Saren, I was tasked with coming up with every possible weakness and recording it for the next cycle. My search took me to the Omega Relay, and while all of the Reapers were occupied with their harvest, I was able to bypass their IFF and investigate the Collector Base…. where I found _you, _the Collectors, transforming the corpses of my people into a _turian reaper!_"

"**Assuming direct control," **Goeth sputtered uncontrollably. **"You may have broken my hold over the Protheans, and even control over this one wanes. We are just one step closer to our return!" **The guards flanking Hackett pointed their rifles at the Prothean, who was on his knee and obviously fighting whatever the hell was controlling him.

"Sir!" an Ensign shouted as he ran into the room. "URE High Command is deploying the UREFOF to a new position! Installation 06 just went dark! They think it's the Reapers!"

"Shoot me…" Goeth whispered just loud enough so that we could hear. "Shoot me before he- **Fighting us is a pointless cause. You can't defeat us. The cycle of extinction is absolute! I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR DES-"** the guard on the right of Hackett fired a shot at him, tearing straight through his shields and piercing his leg. Immediately, the yellow glow in his eyes dissipated, and Goeth slipped into unconsciousness.

"Get him to the medbay, stat!" Hackett ordered, and his two guards picked up the limp Prothean. "Keep him under guard until I say otherwise! Relay the orders! All units on high alert, active combat stations! All forces begin the subspace jump to Installation 06! That includes you, _Normandy_! Get me the Conclave in the Communications Bay. Commander Shepard and Ambassador Vakarian, on me."

* * *

_Meanwhile, on Installation 06_

"They're jamming our communications! Sons of bitches sent the call to the Conclave for us!" Sergeant Orion said with a laugh as he held down the trigger of his _Ravager_. These creatures, armed with what was obviously mass accelerated weaponry, swarmed the Installation in great numbers, and an entire fleet of black space-squid was trying to obliterate the base.

Installation 06 is one of ten man made stations spread across the border of the known Galaxy. As that border was pushed by exploration teams, the Installations would be dragged along with them, fortifying the boundary. Using the most up-to-date Anti-MHD shielding, an Installation could handle direct fire from a URE Armageddon 'Planet-Destroyer' Class weapon, which literally fried the core of a planet and crumbled it from within. The Raloi Oligarchy had similar weapons, but the advantage the URE had was numbers.

However, under the strain of multiple MHD cannons firing at the shielding repeatedly, it was falling too fast for comfort. If the shielding fell, though, the Installation was made of what the URE called 'Martyrdom Metal.' Synthesized from the Mass Relays, these facilities were the strongest in the known Galaxy, aside from the Bastion. And, like a Relay, when it was destroyed… Supernova-equivalent explosion. At least, that's what we think. No one's had the balls to try it.

"So do we know what we're dealing with?" Corporal Adams shouted from his position in cover. "These things are husks! And I don't think husks are smart enough to build ships with magneto hydrodynamic weaponry!"

"Corporal, I haven't a doubt in my mind that these space squids are our friendly neighborhood Reapers! So let's give them a nice welcoming party!" Orion replied in a gritty southern accent. "Let's be sure to show them that the Conclave, and all her peoples, is _not _to be screwed with!"

The two soldiers jumped out of cover into a hail of mass accelerator rounds, which bounced harmlessly off their shields, and charged in. Sergeant Orion tackled the closest husk to the ground, and noted how much it looked like the ones his grandfather fought nearly a century ago on Palaven as he filled its indoctrinated mind with pure energy from his _Ravager_. Corporal Adams, however, was in the middle of a dance with another husk, which was much larger. It had four glowing eyes, which were soon unrecognizable as he fired a round from his shotgun, the _Cleaver_, into its face. More and more husks continued to swarm them, and eventually, enough mass accelerator rounds caused Orion's shields to collapse.

Immediately, Adams raised a biotic barrier around his commanding officer before the rounds penetrated his adamantium-plated armor. The metal, first discovered in the Mars Archives, is nearly impenetrable and common on the outskirts of the Sol System. The only reason the Ice Giants in the Sol System were colonized was because of their rich deposits of adamantium.

The two stood back to back as they were surrounded on all sides. They turned to each other and grinned, venting all heat from their weapons and retaking aim. Before they could fire, a loud growl shook the walls around them. As they fired repeatedly into the crowd of husks that was slowly advancing on them, a large creature, one might go so far as to say _brutish_, charged through the line of husks and leapt at them.

Adams and Orion unleashed every asset they had to slow it down, but to no avail. The brute had thrown a right hook at the Corporal, sending him flying in the direction of the four eyed creatures. When he landed, several pairs of arms began clawing at his armor, and as he swatted one of them away, another pair grappled onto his arm. They managed to unhook his glove and pull it straight off his hand. Before he could do anything, the creature took a bite into his hand, and Adams let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Orion had no choice but to ignore the pleas of help from his comrade. If he went to help him, the brute would charge while his guard was down. He had no choice but to listen as one of his men, and _friends_ was pulled apart and eaten by… _cannibals_! In a fit of rage, Orion charged the brute with his _Ravager _and kept the stream of energy bolts flying. Even the thick armor of this creature couldn't keep up with the onslaught, and it lost momentum in its assault. As it turned away, Orion continued his attack, and eventually, the brute collapsed on the ground. Orion turned to help Adams, but was quickly tackled to the ground by a group of cannibals.

With is _Ravager _out of reach, Orion drew his _Marksmen_ and began firing round after round at the cannibals that surrounded him, but every time one fell, another took its place. As they were clawing at his armor, he turned to see Adams… or what was left of him. They managed to pry his helmet off, and the entire front of his face was torn and hanging by strands of flesh. _So this is how I go down, huh?_ Orion thought as the claws began scratching the glass on his mask. _Like hell I'm becoming squid food! _The Sergeant managed to pry his arm free, reach to his hip, and pull out a URE Plasma grenade. Pulling the pin, he felt a smile spread on his face as the cannibals continued to claw at him obliviously.

"See you in hell, fuckers!" Orion shouted in defiance. Just as he finished, the plasma grenade exploded and showered his assailants in searing plasma that turned where he was laying into a seven foot crater.

* * *

Commander Shepard, Ambassador Vakarian, and Admiral Hackett stood in front of the Subspace Communicator. While humanity had discovered the Quantum Entanglement Communicator fairly early on, the discovery of Subspace made communication nearly instantaneous from any point in the known Galaxy. Several figures stood before the three of them, and they did not look pleased.

The Six Councilors are: Councilor Udina, representative of the URE; Councilor Kaliri, representative of the Raloi Oligarchy; Councilor Hive, representative of the Necronic Empire; Councilor Craws, representative of the Yahg Federation; Councilor T'Soni, representative of the New Asari Republics; Councilor Zero, representative of the Ghost Fleet.

By far, the most pissed off would be Udina; he was still in an outrage over the attack on Eden Prime. "This was a _distraction_ by the Reapers to get the UREFOF in a position for the Reapers to enter our territory! And we fell for it!"

"Actually, it wasn't," Garrus said, causing the Councilors' glare to shift to him. "Sorry, where are my manners… Actually, it wasn't, Your Majesty." Hackett and Shepard let out a small chuckle, which just caused Udina to be even more infuriated.

"And just _who _the hell are _you?_!?" Udina shouted in a fit of rage.

"Ambassador Garrus Vakarian, sole survivor of the Turian Hegemony," Garrus replied. He said it as if he was getting tired of having to repeatedly introducing himself. "Seriously, I should just get a name card. Anyway, the Reapers didn't send the Collectors to distract your navy. They were sent to evaluate your technological progress… which strikes me as odd, because for us, they did that through the Citadel."

"We blew up the Citadel when we discovered what it was actually used for," Hackett said with a completely straight face. The following expression Garrus gave us was priceless. "Well, what did you expect us to do? It was a gateway into the heart of our civilization."

"I don't know, set up an ambush?!" Garrus exclaimed. Shepard let out another laugh. She was finding this whole thing to be way too funny. "So that explains that. The Collectors are their secondary information network, but my guess is since you destroyed the Citadel, the Reapers needed to get a scope for how you were progressing."

"You would have thought the Reapers would have invaded the second their precious Citadel was destroyed," the Councilor T'Soni thought out loud. This drew Garrus' attention immediately. "Took you long enough, Detective. It's nice to see you aga-"

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same to you, _Liara,_" Garrus replied with great hostility.

"I take it you two know each other?" Shepard asked to break the awkward silence that followed. "What're the odds…"

"A scientist that I rescued on Therum after Saren began his plot to release the Reapers," Garrus said sharply. "Biggest mistake I ever made. We failed to stop Saren, and only Liara and I survived from the initial team. When the Reapers began invading, Liara did everything in her power to stop the Asari Republics from aiding the Hierarchy in order to protect their own borders. Fat lot of good that did, besides speeding up our extinction!"

"I had to do what was best for my people, Garrus! Ever since you discovered the secret about the Reapers, you knew the turians would be targeted because of their military strength! What was I to do?" Liara defended herself.

"I had a plan! We work together! There is no other way to survive this war unless we can trust _each other_!" Garrus shot back.

"_ENOUGH!_" Shepard shouted, causing both Liara and Garrus to look at her in surprise. "What matters now is that we are here _now_, and the Reapers are back 49,500 years earlier than we thought! Garrus, continue with what you were saying before Councilor T'Soni interrupted you."

"Of course, Commander. You aren't the first civilization to destroy the Citadel upon contact. Xenophobia is very common, leading some races to destroy the Citadel out of distrust of aliens. In between cycles, the Reapers construct a new Citadel if the other one was destroyed, whether upon discovery or during the war with the Reapers. And the Collectors were their plan B," Garrus explained. "And the Collectors have never failed where the Citadel has. So, as far as I know, the Reapers have no plan C. Why would they? This plan has worked for millions of years."

"It would be unwise to underestimate the Reapers like that," Hackett replied. "The entire UREFOF is on route to Installation 06. Just in case, we're stopping at the nearby system. If that base is destroyed while we're there… I don't want to be the man who proved those nerds theories about Martyrdom Metal with an entire fleet."

"And what about the _Normandy_?" Shepard asked the Admiral. "We were geared to stall a Yahg Incursion, not fight a war with Reapers. We're not exactly equipped to take on a Reaper Capital Ship, you know."

"No problem. Once we get out of Subspace, the _Normandy _and her crew will divert to this Omega Relay with Garrus and Goeth in order to free the last of the Protheans from indoctrination. Since they know we can free them, it will probably be heavily guarded. However, the _Normandy_ can sneak in with her active camouflage to drop off a small strike force to plant a transmitter in the heart of the facility. Think you can do that, Commander?"

"Consider it already done, Admiral."

"Good. Now, if everything is in place, then I'd like to have a chat with your second in command, Shepard. I have something I wish to discuss with him." Hackett left the room to Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian, who were at the mercy of the six councilors that were glaring at them.

* * *

"You asked to see me, Admiral?" I asked as I stood there at attention.

"At ease, Winters. Now, I think you and I can both agree that your performance down on Eden Prime was exemplary. I know that you've been itching to get into N7 Special Operations for awhile now, and you've definitely earned it. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you," Hackett started.

"Then why, sir?"

"Remember when I was talking about genetic modification?" I nodded. "Well, what I said was true. Learning how to recreate an embryo from tissue is literally the first thing we learned to help speed up Asari reproduction levels. However, as we delved deeper into it, we discovered much more applications. What I am about to say does _not _leave this room. Ever. Got it?" I nodded again. "Good. Where to begin…

"Recently, we discovered the process to apply genetic modifications to living, developed organisms. It wasn't easy, and there was a lot of trial and error, but we did it. The experiments will lead to what we call the _HELIOS _Program. We ran into a snag, though. The modifications we make to the genetic code will be rejected if the subject is a biotic. Given the fact that 85% of humans are biotics as a result of the Athena's Owl Incident, we are having trouble finding suitable candidates for the program."

"And you want _me _to do this?" I asked, to which Hackett nodded. "Before I can agree to anything, sir, I have to know what the experiments will entail. I can't jump into this blind."

"Understandable, Lieutenant. The _HELIOS _Program has revealed that non-biotics, if augmented with specific genetic modifications, will be stronger, faster, smarter, and _better_ than the average soldier. Our first trial revealed that the subject was able to hold his own against a Yahg, unarmed and in simple clothes," Hackett explained. "Our more recent subjects have been able to do… ungodly things…"

"I'm not sure I follow…"

Hackett pulled out the holo disk from earlier, which showed the human DNA. "We've discovered a substance that can completely rewrite your genetic code. We call it Apollious, and unrefined, it drives you insane. Your body can't comprehend the amount of DNA changed at once, and it leads to what we know as husks. We always thought that the Dragons Teeth injected some kind of cybernetics, but we were wrong. It injected raw Apollious." Several blocks on the double helix drifted off the projection and were replaced by new, green blocks. "We refined it into a new substance called Helios. A tamer version, we were able to rewrite specific portions of a subject's DNA."

"Hackett… this is wrong. We're playing God!" I shouted. "I mean… the people that undergo this process… they're not even _human_ anymore!"

"I understand that, Lieutenant, but the Reapers are playing God as well! Why do they get to decide who lives and when? The only way to win this war is to _beat_ them at their own game! If that means sacrificing my humanity to do so, then so be it!" Hackett returned.

I nodded. I guess he was right. You can't fight conventional war with the Reapers, as evidence from all of the Arks that we have found so far. "So you said they do ungodly things… what kinds of things were you talking about?"

Hackett smiled a little, and changed the picture on the holo disk. A video of a man came on, and he was standing in front of what I would assume was a camera. _"Subject 012 Test: Iron Skin." _Behind the man, a _Ravager_ appeared and began firing. The bolts of light made contact with the subject, but he didn't recoil at all. There was no shimmer to signify shields, so I knew he was taking these shots directly. After about five shots, the man doubled over in pain, but stood back up to show no signs of injury.

"_Subject 004 Test: Iron Muscles." _A different man, this one much skinnier than the huge behemoth that was Subject 012, was standing in front of a M56 Grizzly, the standard URE Armored Vehicle. The man walked up to it and put his hands underneath the hull of the tank, and pulled up. Although he definitely had to try, it seemed noticeably easy for him. The Grizzly rolled onto its side and eventually flipped over.

"_Subject 019 Test: Hacking." _Once again, a different man stood in front of a terminal. The camera moved to be hovering over his shoulder, and he began tapping away on the computer. I noticed at the top right corner, it said _URE Adamantium Lock_, which was the strongest military grade lock in the entire URE Navy. After waiting another ten seconds, the computer opened.

"I could show you more, but I think you get the idea," Hackett said as my jaw dropped when the screen unlocked. "Helios soldiers are the strongest, fastest, and smartest soldiers in the entire URE Navy. I want you to join their ranks."

I thought about it. Okay, sue me, this guy was offering me untold amounts of power, and I thought about it. Does that make me a bad guy? Like hell it does. But, in the end, I turned back to him and said, "Sorry, Admiral. I'm honored, and I will do as you say by keeping this under wraps, but I belong on the _Normandy_."

"I never said you had to change stations, Lieutenant," Hackett replied. "The way I see it, the most advanced ship in the URE Navy will be in the thick of things during the entirety of the war. We need some muscle on that ship for some of the special operation missions you'll be flying. You'll get the modifications, stay for a week of testing, and be right back with your crew."

I stared at the Admiral for a good two minutes before I had anything to say. And when I did finally say something, it surprised even me.

"I'm in."

* * *

**CODEX UPDATED:  
Technology:**

**Standard URE Combat Shotgun: **The SUCS, or the _Cleaver_, is used most commonly for close quarters combat in the URE Navy Marines. It shoots charged bolts of MHD energy; because of this, it can only fire eight shots before it has to vent the massive amounts of heat that accumulates when it's fired. It has two firing modes: Slug Shot and Spread Shot. Slugs will aim to pierce highly armored infantry or those behind cover, while Spread Shot aims to do as much damage to as much people as possible.

**Project **_**Helios**_**: **A super soldier project started by the URE in 2481, the _Helios _Project uses genetic modification with the substance Apollious, which is refined into Helios, in order to cause the subject to become nearly invulnerable, immensely strong, and quick witted. Because of the nature of biotics, only non-biotic humans are able to be enrolled in the project. Lieutenant Kenneth Winters is chosen for _Helios_ rather than N7 after The Eden Prime Prothean Conflict.

**Installations: **Created to be the outer protecting force of the Conclave, ten Installations are spread throughout the Galaxy to provide warning to the people within their boundaries. Made of Martyrdom Metal and a _huge _Mass Effect Core in the center, Installations are designed to withstand heavy fire and, in the event of its destruction, take down the enemy forces with it.

**Individuals:**

**Garrus Vakarian: **When Saren Arterius attacked Eden Prime, C-Sec's finest was sent to investigate him after a Quarian revealed evidence to prove him guilty. Garrus Vakarian was sent to stop him and, because of this, became a Specter. He failed to stop Saren, however, and the Reapers returned. Since he knew the most about the Reapers, he was sent to investigate the Collector Base and, because of the intel he discovered, was frozen in cryostasis to warn the next cycle.

**Liara T'Soni: **Part of the team to take down Saren, Liara and Garrus quickly became close friends. However, when they failed to stop the Reapers, Liara, Garrus, and a few others embarked on a suicide mission to find the Collector Base. Once the mission was complete and Garrus was chosen to be put in cryostasis, Liara convinced the Asari Republics to withdraw their forces and defend Thessia. Garrus, outraged with Liara's betrayal to the Hierarchy, went into cryostasis without another word.

* * *

**A/N: So, I know people won't like the super soldier concept because it's so overdone, and this is becoming like Halo, and _blah blah blah._ Look, I've had this planned since the beginning, and I'm not changing it. When I wrote the story, I originally wanted it to be like Bioshock with plasmids and stuff, but then I was like, "shit, I can't explain that with science," so I scrapped it and went with Halo-like enhancements. That said, if you guys want that kind of thing, tell me and I can change it. I have the story in my head, and this won't change it _too much._**

**And for those of you saying the URE and the Conclave are too OP... you haven't seen what I've planned for the Reaper Upgrades. Those Reapers have to be doing _something_ out there in Dark Space, right? Not just sleeping, but biding their time and stuff. Trust me, when I say we will have war, _we will have WAR!_ **

**ONE LAST THING! If anyone wants to beta my chapters before I release them, just ask. I'm always looking for a second opinion and someone else to catch errors in spelling or grammar or whatever. Plus, you get to read the chapters before everyone else, and I fully expect you to flaunt that in other people's faces. The same goes for Artwork; I fully appreciate the hard work that goes into art. If anyone wants to make a cover for the story, by all means. Right now, its my own profile image 0_o **

**STAY SEXY MY FRIENDS  
VanguardThorne**


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